I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier. I often get my America feeling. I get it when I vote

or whenever I look at my passport or when I listen to the song, the farmer and the cowman from the

1943 musical Oklahoma. In fact, if you want to hear me talk about my intense feelings about that

song, I'll put a link in the show notes to the episode of a little happier where I talk about it.

And just the other day, I was hit by the America feeling very strongly.

I live in New York City and one of the great advantages of living here is that I'm constantly

seeing iconic sites. I'm just going through my ordinary day and suddenly I see the Brooklyn

Bridge or the Empire State Building or that Bull Statue in the financial district.

But like anything that you see every day, sometimes I take these landmarks for granted.

I look at the gorgeous Washington Square Arch and I don't even really notice it.

But it occurred to me that there is one landmark in New York City that I never do take for granted.

And it seems to me that other people don't seem to take it for granted either.

And that's the Statue of Liberty. I've been on planes crowded with jaded New Yorkers who

absorbed in their devices and ignoring the pilot. And then the pilot says, and if you look out the

window on the left, you'll see a great view of the Statue of Liberty and everyone looks, everyone

tries to look out the windows. And when I walk on the far west side of the city, whenever the

Statue of Liberty begins to come into view, I see how everyone's heads lift. Everyone looks for it

as they make their approach. I have a friend who lives on the far west side and one of these

buildings that has giant windows. And I was visiting her and looking out at the Statue of Liberty and I

said, you know, I bet you don't even notice the statue anymore. It's just part of the background

for you. And she said, you know, actually not every morning when I have my first cup of coffee,

I just stand at the window and look at it. So what is it about the Statue of Liberty?

...